


Bow Out

by 9r7g5h



Category: Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-26
Updated: 2013-05-20
Packaged: 2017-12-03 16:23:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/700246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9r7g5h/pseuds/9r7g5h
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If it would mean her happiness, Felix would bow out and let him win. Even if it meant breaking his own eight-bit heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of these pictures: http://fafafixit.tumblr.com/image/37173301561 http://nintendonut1.tumblr.com/image/37242427262 and the song ‘Take It All Away’ by Owl City.

Walking into Tapper’s with his head bowed, his hand clutching the bag he had borrowed from one of the Nicelanders, and his hat pulled over his eyes so that he would not have to meet the gaze of the man he was seeing, it was the work of moments to pull himself onto the stool and place his order with the tender. His hand happily closing around a root beer a minute later, drink close by, Felix was finally ready to raise his head and look his strange drinking companion in the eye.

“Mr. Fix-It,” the man said with a slight nod, his features wary as he watched the smaller man’s actions. He was surprised, Felix could tell, for to him, the invitation must have seemed random and suspicious. Both of them knew what was at stake here, and to have a meeting like this in such a public place jeopardized it all.

To be honest, Felix no longer cared.

“Just Fix-It is fine, Scott,” Felix said after taking a large gulp from his drink, the slight burn as it went down his throat quickly being replaced by a welcoming warmth as it hit his stomach. Although he normally condoned drinking on a work night, for this conversation, he wanted to be as drunk as possible.

Maybe, just maybe, it would give him the courage to do what he needed to.

“Why did you ask me here, Fix-It,” Brad Scott asked softly, his eyes constantly flickering around the room for any who might be taking an interest in their conversation. Although his words were harsh and to the point, there was no malice in them, only confusion and wariness as he tried to figure out what, exactly, was going through the eight-bit man’s mind.

“I think we both know what the answer to that is, Scott,” Felix said with a shrug as he turned his gaze towards the drink before him, his eyes trying to see through the murky darkness for the bottom of the glass. Realizing that it was no use, he quickly took another sip before asking the question that had been nagging him for the last three weeks, one that only the man beside him, as much as he hated it, could answer. “How is she?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Fix-It,” Brad replied, his words accompanied by his own swallow of root beer. “When we’re not in game mode, she finds every way possible to avoid me, going out on patrols alone to scout out areas that are way off our grid. Some of the others, Kohut and Markowski, perhaps, know where she’s going, but mod forbid they tell me. And if she’s not out looking for a fight, she’s locked in her room, refusing to see anyone. Refusing to see even me.” Letting out a sigh, Brad quickly finished his root beer and ordered another before continuing, the soldier having come to the exact same conclusion as Felix had earlier that night: this kind of talk needed to be had while under the influence. “Tammy’s shut both of us out, and until she comes to a decision, we’re both in the dark.”

And that, in a nutshell, was their problem. Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun, Felix’s wife and Brad’s fiancé, was trying to choose between them, the lover she had been programmed with and the one that she had found. For the past three weeks, ever since the update for Hero’s Duty that had allowed Scott to respawn at the end of each game had been added, this had been their problem.

Felix was finally going to fix it.

“Tamora still has nightmares about you, you know,” Felix said softly, his words calm even though his eyes stared at the space marine accusingly. “About what happened at your wedding, and what she had to do after. It still haunts her.”

“I know,” Brad said guiltily, one of his hands running through his hair as he let out a sigh, “boy do I know. The men never let me forget it, though I don’t really remember much. Just the beginning of the wedding, getting to the part where we were about to say ‘I do,’ and a crash. That’s it, Fix-It. Everything else is just darkness.”

“Tamora was the one that shot you,” Felix said with a shrug, though a flash of guilt passed through him when he caught the brief look of horror that had quickly shot across from Brad’s face. He quickly stamped the emotion down, for if he wanted this to work, the scientist next to him had to know everything that there was about the woman they both loved, not just the things he had been programed to remember. It was full disclosure time, and despite it being painful, it was more than needed. “That’s what her nightmares are about, for the most part: having to actually shoot you.”

“I…I see,” Brad said thickly, his throat partly clogged with the information that Felix had just so casually imparted upon him.

“Don’t worry about the men,” Felix said suddenly after a few moments of silence. “They’re just angry that Tamora is so upset. Once things settle down a bit, they’ll welcome back you with open arms. You’re one of their own, and that’ll beat out anything else they can hold against you.”

“Doubt it, but we’ll see,” Brad replied with a snort. “I know those men just as well as you do, Fix-It, and some of them can hold a grudge. It’ll take a long time for them to get over this.”

“Maybe,” Felix agreed with a noncommittal shrug, “but we’ll see. If Tamora’s having a nightmare and you can’t wake her up, kiss her ear.”

“What,” Brad asked with a slack jaw, his eyes wide as he turned to stare at the heavily blushing handyman. “Where did that come from, Fix-It?”

“It works best with her left one, but her right will do just as well. Not sure how it works, but it seems to calm her,” Felix continued, pretending that he had not heard the space marine’s shocked question and that his face was not redder then Ralph’s overalls. “She prefers pumpkin pie over cherry, and Mary already said that she would make them for you if you can’t find the ingredients. Try to avoid Street Fighter after she’s come to Tappers, they’re still rebuilding after the last time she accepted one of their challenges. She loves chocolate, but will rarely eat it, so if you have a special occasion, get some. She loves to relax in Sugar Rush and play with the kids when the day is done, so I’ll avoid there, but don’t let her shoot any of the Laffy Taffy; they like to annoy her. Five’s her limit, so if it is a work day, don’t let her overdo it; my hammer can fix a lot of things, but even it can’t take the sting off a hangover. When you hold her hand, make sure tha-“

“Fix-It,” Brad interrupted, his expression both curious and interested in what the smaller man was saying, though obviously his curiosity had won out, “why in tarnation are you telling me these things? Don’t get me wrong, they’re fascinating, but why?”

“Because Brad,” Felix said with an unhappy sigh as he pulled a stack of papers from his bag, placing them carefully before the soldier, “I’m not going to make Tamora choose. I’m not going to cause her any more pain. I’m done.”

“Are these…divorce papers,” Brad asked, stunned, as he flipped through the pile, his mind quickly working through the technical jargon to answer his own questions. “You’re divorcing Tamora?”

“One of her men, Silivan, was programmed to be a lawyer before the cy-bugs got loose,” Felix said as a way of answering. “He was the one that filled out the papers we needed to make the wedding legal, and he was the one who helped me write up this. I’ve already signed them, so all Tamora will need to do is add her signature and the two of you can finally be together.” Draining the rest of his root beer, Felix carefully tugged the document from between the space marine’s fingers and tucked it back into his bag before covering his face with his hands.

“What if she chooses you, Fix-It,” Brad asked softly, the tone of his words showing just how shocked he was that this was actually happening, “what if she decides to actually stay with you?”

“Not going to happen, Scott,” Felix said with a soft, self-deprecating laugh that sounded closer to a sob to the space marine. “I’ve always known that I was Tamora’s second, and that there would always be a part of her that would continue to love you. How can a short eight-bit like me compete? No, I’ve let this go on far too long. It’s time I step down and let the two of you find your happiness.” Throwing down a couple of coins to pay for his drink, Felix slid from his stool before turning to face the space marine, his hand extended. “Just, please Scott,” Felix said as Brad took his hand, the taller man bending slightly so that they were eye to eye, “take care of her. Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean that I don’t still love her.”

“I’ll do whatever I can, and more, to make sure that she’s happy,” Brad said solemnly, “of that you can be sure, Fix-It. Thank you. You’ve just made this a lot easier for all of us.”

Turning away without another word, Felix shrugged the strap of his bag over his shoulder and walked away from Tappers, heading straight towards Hero’s Duty.

——————————————————————

By the time Felix had reached the barracks and found Tamora’s room empty, he knew, once and for all, that he was a coward.

Blinking rapidly as he tried to keep the tears that were threatening to fall locked away, at least until he could reach his own game, Felix carefully placed the pile of papers that would free them all on her table, making sure that, no matter where in the room you were, they were always visible. The quicker Tamora saw them and ended things, the better off they would all be. Placing the note that he had hastily written on top, after making sure that it would remain still, even in the harshest of winds, Felix ran from the game, his vision blurring as the tears he had been fighting for the past week finally ran free.

He was a coward that could not even face his wife when he asked her for a divorce, but at that moment, the only thing he could think about was the pain in his chest where his eight-bit heart was breaking.


	2. Chapter 2

Walking down the tunnel that would take him back to his game with his head held high, his hand clutching the now empty bag that he had borrowed from one of the Nicelanders, and his hat pushed upwards so that he could see the world around him, it was the work of a moment for Fix-It Felix to realize that, eventually, he would be okay.

So long as Tamora was happy, despite the ache in his chest that refused to go away, he would survive.

The players, of course, would be easy to fool. Fake a grin, pretend to taste the random pies that his job forced him to eat, and pretend to care about the medal that would be hung around his neck each time that he won. Continue on fixing the messes that Ralph caused with each new round, and so long as he could force himself to remain focused, there would be no need to worry. For the player, the children that had kept his game alive for the last thirty years, nothing would ever change. Of that, Felix would make sure. He owned them that much, and he always paid his dues.

Reaching the train station with less than an hour to spare before the arcade was due to open, all it took was a single look at the pity in Ralph’s gaze for Felix to break down once more and cry.

The only thing the larger man could do was helplessly wait for the final pieces of his brothers’ heart to finish tearing themselves apart.

“You gave her the papers,” Ralph stated calmly as he watched Felix finally dry his eyes with the back of his glove, leaving a wet spot where the leather was a darker brown then the rest. For the last week the wrecker had been fighting with his co-worker over the decision that the handyman had made, trying, as best as he could, to keep his friends’ life from falling apart at his own two hands. Every moment that could be spared between games had been spent discussing the move that Felix had decided to play, and now, his efforts in vain, Ralph was seeing his worst fear come to life.

Felix may have fixed one problem, but the one that he had created would take so much more than a magic hammer to repair. Ralph was not even sure that there was a cure for a heart so broken.

“I left them where she would find them,” Felix replied softly after a moment, his voice thick with the feelings that were still swimming in his eyes. “I was too much of a coward to give them to her myself, so I left a note to explain everything.” Seeing the look in his friend’s eyes, it was with a watery smile that Felix pulled out his hammer and tapped his face with it, banishing the irritated skin and blotchy marks that had been his most defining features a moment before. “I’m fine, Ralph; truly, I am. The arcade’s about to op-“

“No, Felix, you’re not,” Ralph interrupted with a slight growl, his hands curling into fists as he stared at the hero of their game in a mixture of angered disbelief. “You just gave the woman you’ve been waiting thirty years to fall in love with the perfect way out without even telling her why in person, so no, you are not fine. You are so not fine, there’s not even a _word_ to describe how not fine you are. I know you, Felix, and I know how you work, so don’t even try to sugar coat this. You are not _fine_.”

“I’m better than I would have been if I had decided to stay in the game, brother,” Felix said with a sigh, his head bowing under the weight of Ralph’s words. “This way, at least, the decision to give up was on me, not her. Tamora can be with Brad without having to have chosen between the two of us, and you know what, Ralph? I’m glad. I’m glad that Tamora is going to be happy with the man that she was programmed to love, and that she won’t have to start that new life knowing what it was that she left behind. She’s free, and that’s all that matters to me.”

“You talk as if you knew that she was going to choose Brad, when in reality you had no stinkin’ clue,” Ralph shot back, his arms shaking as he fought to reign in the temper that was screaming at him to smash something while his tongue threw out the exact same words that he had been saying for the past week. “She could have chosen you, Felix, she could have chosen you. And what did you do? You threw it all away.” Turning on his heel so that he was no longer facing the smaller hero, it was with a roar of frustration on his friend’s behalf that Ralph brought his fists down on the station benches, splinters and flecks of metal soaring through the air as he continued to pummel them into dust. Finding that his rage had been spent and that there was nothing of his targets left to finish destroying, it was with a sigh that the wrecker turned back, a deep sadness that had nothing to do with himself replacing the anger of before. “I know you Felix, and even you can’t say that the solution you came up with fixed everything, especially if the broken heart icons that have been floating around you for the past few minutes are anything to go by.”

“Ralph,” Felix said hesitantly as he swatted at the few remaining pixels that had given his feelings a physical representation within their world, “what else could I have done? What-“

“The arcade is officially open!”

Wincing slightly as the announcement was made that would begin their newest day of work, for a few moments more Ralph and Felix met each other’s gazes, their eyes locked as they ignored the steadily increasing sounds of the children filing into the room and making their way towards their favorite game. It took a shadow finally passing across their screen, the only indicator that a quarter would soon be heading their way, for Ralph to turn away, his head slowly shaking as he prepared to take his spot.

“You could have fought for her, Felix,” Ralph said softly as he prepared to begin wrecking the building. “You could have fought and let her know that you loved her. But it’s too late now.”

With that, another day began.

It was a busy day, for that Felix had to be thankful, for so long as he focused on the movements that the children playing his games commanded him to make, his mind could not wander to the high definition first-person shooter game that he could always catch a glimpse over the player’s shoulder. So long as he was dodging ducks, fixing windows, and jumping for the next platform, he could not focus on the black-clad warrior who was shooting her way through level after level of cy-bug scum. So long as he remained focused on fixing Ralph’s messes, he could not hear the almost words that were just loud enough to be almost audible in his little corner of the room.

So long as he had a player, Felix was okay.

It was those moments, however, those few minutes between one player moving on and another taking an interest in his game, which tore him apart, for it was during those moments that he had nothing other than her to think about.

By the time Litwak closed up the arcade for lunch, Felix was almost at the end of his rope. Smiling the fake smile that he knew was convincing no one as he left, though the Nicelanders were, at Ralph’s prompting, nice enough turn a blind eye to this fact, it was not long before the handyman found himself sitting amongst the trees that made up the eight-bit forest that surrounded their town, his back pressed against the pixilated bark for support. Surprisingly, his eyes were dry, though as he pressed his forehead against his knees he could not help but wish that the tears would come, for at least when he was crying the unspeakable pain within his chest lessened to a more bearable level.

His only comfort was that fact that he had chosen this, and so it had to be a thousand times better than the pain that would have come when Tamora finally told him that she had chosen Brad instead.

“Stink Brain said that I would find you here.”

“H-hey, Vanellope,” Felix greeted as the young princess seated herself next to him, the smile he had thrown on falling as he caught sight of the look on her face. “What are you doing around these parts? Shouldn’t you be back in your own game?”

“Ralph came and told me what had happened,” Vanellope said softly as she looked at the ground, refusing to look him in the eye as she pulled out blade after blade of grass. “Are you and the Sergeant really getting a divorce?”

“It’s for the best,” Felix said as ways of reply, turning his head slightly so that he could watch the little girl sitting next to him destroy the patch of woodland around her. “This way, everyone’s happy.”

“But you’re not,” Vanellope said as she dropped the handful of grass that she had just pulled up, instead twisting so that she was leaning against Felix, her arms wrapping around him as she buried her face into his shoulder. “Everyone but you is happy, and that’s not fair.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Felix whispered as he uncurled to return her hug, his body trembling slightly as he tightened his hold, “life’s not always fair. But so long as Tamora is happy, for me, it’s fair enough.” For a long while the two just sat there together, silently waiting for the time to pass that would send them back to work. When the call finally came that Litwak would soon be returning, meaning that the afternoon swarm of children was not far behind, Vanellope left without another word, the only sign that she had been there the torn up grass and the small lollipop that she had pressed into Felix’s hand when she had turned to go.

The tears finally came when Felix saw that, on the back, the words _We love you_ had been carved into the sticky red coating.

———————————————————-

By the time the final bonus round had ended, Felix was more than ready to head on home.

After the lunch break had ended, the rest of the day had continued on in a blur, the children that had not been able to join their friends for the morning rush swelling their numbers until every game was filled, leaving lines for the more popular games as children watched each other play, hoping to gain a hint or two on how to win at their favorite pastime. Luckily for him, ever since Q-bert and the others had joined their crew, Fix-It Felix, Jr. had become the talk of the town, filling almost every afternoon with players trying to reach that last, fabled level. Normally it was a hardship, for while other game were given a moment or two to rest after each round, the characters of their game no longer had such luxury. On a normal day they had to bite back exhausted groans and continue on without giving themselves away, though no one could complain too much, for they would rather be tired then unplugged. On a normal day, it was just a day like any other.

Today, Felix threw himself into his work, each level passing quicker and quicker as he tried to out jump and out fix the thoughts that refused to leave him.

“Good job today, Felix, Ralph,” Gene said with a nod of his head as they all met up at the base of the apartment, the others chiming in in agreement as they worked to clean up the last bit of debris that the final player had left them with. “That was some wonderful wrecking and fixing. Will we be seeing you two at the after party tonight?”

“Sorry guys,” Ralph said with a chuckle as he shook his head, “but I already promised President Fart Feathers that I would meet her for the roster race. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Fair enough,” Gene said with a nod, though something in the tone of his voice gave away the relief at the wrecker’s absence that he was no longer allowed to publically express. “Felix? Seeing as how you no longer have a previous engagement, so will we be seeing you?”

“N-no, Gene, I’m just going to go home,” Felix said quickly as he saw Ralph’s hands begin to curl into fists, hoping that he would be able to prevent a fight if he got the larger man out of there. “Good night everybody, great job, and we’ll be seeing you tomorrow. Ralph, come on.” Reaching up to tug on the larger man’s sleeve, it was with just enough time to spare that the handyman dragged the wrecker away, though the latter continued to shoot glares over his shoulder at the Nicelander behind them.

“I really hate that guy sometimes,” Ralph growled as the two of them continued down the street that would take them to the train station. “He just makes me so, so angry, sometimes, I just want to wreck something.”

“Gene’s just being Gene, brother,” Felix said distractedly, his eyes fixed upon the yellow-painted door that was quickly, too quickly, coming into range. “Don’t let him get to yah.”

“Hey, are you okay,” Ralph asked as he realized what Felix had been looking at for the past few minutes, the wrecker himself taking a couple of moments to examine the entrance. It had been built for someone much taller than Felix himself, the handyman having specially made it for the woman he had intended to spend the rest of his life with, painted to reflect the sunlight that was missing from both of their games. Inside, Ralph knew that everything would be exactly the same, the entire building built to scale perfectly for her. “You’re not going to stay here, are you?”

“Just for tonight,” Felix replied as he turned away, his hops up the stairs sluggish and slow. “Tomorrow I’ll move back into the main complex, but I just wanted to spend one last night here. To remember.”

“And there’s nothing I can say to change your mind, to make you keep on trying,” Ralph asked softly as Felix reached up to open the door, standing on the tips of his toes to reach the handle that would have been at the perfect height for her. “You’re sure?”

“Absolutely, brother. I’m sure.”

“You know,” Ralph almost whispered, “I asked you the exact same question when you told me that you were going to ask Calhoun to marry you. And you gave me the exact same answer.”

“I know, Ralph,” Felix replied, his head bowed so that the brim of his hat covered his eyes. “When it comes to her, I’m always sure.” With that, Felix closed the door and left the last member of his family to continue on alone.

————————————————————————————

Hours later, lying on what had once been their bed, staring at the picture that stood on his nightstand, the one that had been taken on their wedding day, when Felix heard the door softly open and shut, he automatically assumed that it was Ralph coming to check on him.

“How was the race,” Felix asked wearily, wondering just how long he would have to wait before he could politely ask Ralph to leave. “Did Vanellope win?”

“I wouldn’t know, Fix-It,” a voice that was definitely not Ralph’s replied coolly, “because I’ve been too busy debating whether I should shoot you myself or just feed you to a cy-bug and be done with it to go watch.”


	3. Chapter 3

Standing in his doorway, her arms crossed, eyes narrowed into enraged slits, and still wearing her gore-encrusted armor, weapons included, was the most beautiful and terrifying sight that Felix had ever seen in his thirty-three years of life: his very angry wife.

“Tamora,” Felix yelped as he tumbled from the bed, his head smacking the edge of the table as he fell. Shooting back up, shaking himself in an attempt to get rid of the pain, it was with wide eyes that he focused on the one woman that he never again thought he would see, one that was now standing in the doorway as she gave him the worse glare that she could muster. “Wha-what are you doing here?”

“I’m here,” Tamora Calhoun said in a deadly whisper that he could just barely hear, “because a coward wouldn’t tell me to my face that he wanted out.” Uncrossing her arms, Tamora raised her hand to show that she was holding a stack of papers, the edges wrinkled and torn to show that she had spent a lot of time flipping through them. “I’m here,” she said again in a slightly louder voice, “because I had to spend the better part of my day beating answers out of Silivan because a certain husband of mine wouldn’t tell me to my face that he wanted a divorce. I’m here,” she shouted for a third time, the hurt and anger finally breaking through the emotionless tone that she had been using, “because I want you to look me in the eyes when you explain why.” Her chest rising and falling rapidly, as if she had just finished running a marathon, Tamora fell silent as she waited for him to respond.

“I…I didn’t want to make you choose,” Felix mumbled quietly, his voice soft in the face of his wife’s rage. He had seen her angry before, but never had it been anything quite like this.

“Choose what, Fix-It,” Tamora yelled, her words increasing in volume and intensity with each one that slid past her lips. Clenching and unclenching her hands as she began to pace around the room, the document in her hand showing a little bit more wear and tear with each movement that she made, it was with a voice that let him know just how much he had screwed up that she continued her rant. “I wasn’t even aware that there was something that I had to make a decision about! What was it, between keeping our marriage together and just giving up on everything?”

“Didn’t you read my note,” Felix asked meekly as he warily watched her, his eyes darting between her face and the gun that was strapped to her hip that her fingers were inching towards.

This, however, was clearly the wrong thing to say, for the moment the words became audible Tamora froze, a strange, startled look crossing her face as if it had never occurred to her that there might have been some sort of reasonable explanation just waiting for her to read it. This reaction only lasted for a moment though before her rage returned in full, causing Felix to physically cringe as he caught the full onslaught of her renewed verbal attack.

“You left me a note,” she started off softly, her voice dead calm as she took a step forward, her free hand twitching ever so slightly closer to her gun. “You seriously left me a mod damned _note_?” Falling silent, for a split second Felix allowed himself to believe that the storm had, for the most part, abated, her temper calmed just enough by the fact that he had tried to explain the situation to her so that he could clear up the misunderstanding between them now.

He was wrong.

“Mod, Fix-It,” Tamora screamed at him as she hurtled the thick, crumpled document at the floor, causing him to cringe as it hit harder than he had ever thought possible for a pile of papers. “Did you really, honestly believe that a _note_ , a mod damned _note,_ could have ever been enough to explain why you’re leaving me, could have explained what went wrong with our marriage, that it could have somehow made the situation _better_? It would have been better for you to have said nothing at all, for that at least tells that you want nothing more to do with the person. But a _note_? A note is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to get out of your responsibilities, and you know what?”

Gritting her teeth, her eyes wide and wild in a way he had only ever seen when she was fighting cy-bugs, Tamora snatched up the stack of crumpled papers before throwing them once again, this time straight for his chest as she finally drew her weapon from its holster. Leaping out of the way, it was just seconds before she opened fired that he was able make it clear of her shooting range, saving his skin from the rain of bullets that had been heading straight towards him.

Or so he had though.

“No one ever said that I wanted a divorce,” Tamora said softly as she returned her gun to its holster, shooting a deadly glare at the pile of confetti that had once been their divorce documents, her anger seemingly under control now that she had gotten to shoot something, “but if you do, Fix-It, tell me, right here, right now, that you really want one and we’ll go find Silivan so that he can redraw up the papers. But after everything we’ve been through, Fix-It, I think that I deserve to hear it from _you,_ not some mod damned note.”

“I…I didn’t want to make you choose,” Felix repeated after a moment of silence, his head bowed so that he would not have to look her in the eyes, his tongue party stunned for words from his very close brush with a non-brick or duck related death. “Now that Brad’s back, now that he’s alive and the two of you can finally be together, I didn’t want to be the one to stand in the way of that. I want you to be happy, Tamora, but I couldn’t give those to you in person. I’m sorry about how I broke the news to you, but I just couldn’t.”

“So,” Tamora asked after a long moment of contemplation, “that’s what this is all about? Brad being back?”

“Of course,” Felix replied with a startled nod, his eyes flickering upwards to meet hers in surprise. “I know that you still love him, so I’ve decided to leave so that the two of you can be together. This way, you can finally have the happiness that you deserve.”

“You might say that I deserve it,” Tamora replied softly as she slowly walked over to where he was standing, a gentle look replacing the twisted features that had been her mask for their entire interaction, “but the happiness that I _want_ is exactly what I have right here.” That having been said, Tamora pulled him into a hug, her head resting on top of his as she just held him, waiting for the questions that she knew would soon be coming her way.

“B-but what about Brad,” Felix finally asked as he pulled away, his mind still refusing to accept what she had just told him. “Don’t you still love him?”

“Of course,” Tamora replied with a sigh as she stood and walked over to sit on the bed, her entire body slumping the moment she hit the mattress so that she was almost curled into a ball. Allowing her head to fall into her hands, she forced her neck to twist just enough so that she was facing her husband, supported only by her elbows on her knees. This close, the closest he had been to his wife in over three weeks, Felix could see just how exhausted she truly was, the bags under her eyes telling of a lack of sleep and a redness to her face that he doubted was from overexerting herself painting the picture before him. Stepping forward, he cautiously settled himself onto the bed next to her, his silence prompting her to continue.

She did.

“I will always love Brad, Felix,” Tamora said softly, her free hand blindly reaching out for his own, interlocking their fingers once she had found it, “because he is literally part of my code. Although he wasn’t the reason I started fighting the cy-bugs, he was the reason that I continued. Even if I wanted to, I don’t think that I could stop loving him.”

“Then why don’t yo-“

“Shut up, Fix-It, I’m not done yet.”

Seeing as how she was the one who had the gun and could quite easily change her mind about shooting him, Felix decided to comply with her wish and wait to see what she had to say.

“I love Brad,” Tamora reiterated, “but you know what? I’ve found someone else that I also love. Someone who never gave up and who waited for me, no matter how many time I rejected him. Someone who was able to accept my broken past, and fix me for the future.” Squeezing his hand, Tamora turned her head even more so that Felix could see her small, broken smile. “I met you Felix, and I fell in love again.”

“But why,” Felix asked, surprised and more than a little shocked at the words that were coming from his wife’s mouth. “Why, when you could have Brad back, when you could be with a tall, strong, high definition space marine like him, why would you choose to be with a short, eight-bit handyman like me?”

“Because _you’re_ that short, eight-bit handyman,” Tamora said with a shake of her head, almost snorting as the words came from her mouth. “Don’t ask me why, Felix, but somewhere between me almost shooting you and Wreck-It activating that beacon, I think fell in love with you. And I would never give that up for a chance with a…a ghost from my past, even if he was the man I fell in love with first.”

“But wh-“

Whatever Felix had been about to ask remained unheard as someone knocked on the door, their polite yet insistent rapping quickly drawing the couple’s attention and forcing them into momentary silence, startled by the intrusion. Raising an eyebrow as she forced herself to her feet, it was with a questioning glance towards Felix, an expression that he just replied to with a shrug, that Tamora found herself opening the door that led to the greater world of Niceland.

The half-stunned look that crossed her face was everything that Felix needed to know who it was that had come calling.

“Tamora,” Brad said softly after a few moments of silence, his head awkwardly bowed as he tried to both meet and avoid her gaze at the exact same time, “I…I didn’t know you were here.”

“I was talking to Felix,” she replied slowly, her words obviously chosen with care lest her tongue outrun her brain and say something that she wanted to keep to herself. Shifting her weight to her other foot so that she was blocking most of the door, it was with crossed arms that she continued, yet the look in her eyes as she tried to draw his stare higher made it clear that she was not feeling the harsh coolness that she was addressing him with. “What are you doing here, Dr. Scott?”

“Is he here,” Brad asked, tilting his head slightly to see around her as he ignored her question, though it was clear he was trying to hide the wince that had crossed his features at the sound of his last name from her. “Fix-It, I mean. If he’s here, I would like to talk to him.”

“Hello again, Scott,” Felix said with a sigh as he stepped around Tamora, his features set into a neutral mask as he faced his competition and companion, the one he had bowed out to just the night before. “What brings you around these parts?”

“I have something I need to say to you, Fix-It,” Brad said with a nod towards the shorter man, his eyes fixed on a neutral spot between the two characters. “Alone, if you don’t mind.”

“Fine. You’ve got five minutes,” Tamora huffed after a moment as she turned on her heels, though it was clear from her stiff movements that the idea of leaving the two alone had been a hard one to accept. “Then we’ve got a cy-bug in the room to kill, and I would prefer if we did it as a group like the adults we are.”

“I’m afraid that I have to apologize to you, Fix-It,” Brad said with a sigh the moment the door had slammed shut behind her, his eyes peeling themselves from the wooden barrier to look at the ground instead. Reaching his hand into his pocket, drawing attention to the fact that he was not still in his uniform, but instead in more casual clothing, it was with a sheepish look that the other man pulled out a piece of crumpled paper and handed it to Felix, his head bowing even lower as the handyman realized what it was that he had just been handed. “It would seem that, instead of helping, I just made things even worse.”

“This…this is my note,” Felix said softly, his eyes skimming the hardest words that he had ever had the displeasure of writing. Forcing himself to look into the space marine’s eyes, it was with a choked throat that he continued, the words wiggling their way past a lump of confusion and sudden anger. “Why do you have it, Scott,” he almost growled, holding up the message so that both of them could see what had been written on it, “why do you have the note that I left for Tamora?”

“Because,” Brad said after a heavy second of silence, his head tilting so that he could meet Felix’s stare. In his gaze there was no shame, no regret, only guilt that his plan had not worked out quite like he had hoped. “After you left Tapper’s, I followed you into Hero’s Duty with the plan that, after you delivered the papers to Tamora, I could somehow steal and destroy them. My mission was interrupted by her early return, and in my haste to hide I dislodged the note, causing it to fall to the floor. Tamora never noticed it, and during the day I was never given the chance to give it to her. In my attempt to be of use, I only caused harm, and for that, I am sorry.” His words were overly formal, as if he was giving a mission report to his superior officer, though Felix could tell that, despite this, everything that the man had just said rang with truth.

“Why,” Felix simply asked, his head reeling with the fact that Brad Scott, his biggest rival for Tamora’s affections, would do something that would try to help _him._ Although neither man had ever done anything to discredit the other to their love, this was the second time in the same day that something had been done to help, and Felix wanted to know, now that he had dropped out of the competition, why.

“Because I love her,” Brad said with a simple shrug, dropping the formalities now that his confession was complete, “probably as much as you do. But even if she loved me back, even if she asked me to stay, all I would ever be able to do was hurt her.”

“I think you’re going to have to run that one by me again, Scott, because it makes less sense than a hammer fixin’ a broken window,” Felix said after a moment, his confusion clear on his face.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Fix-It” Brad said slowly with a sigh, forcing himself to think through the words that he wanted to say. “You were the one that told me about the nightmares, and you were the one who told me what it was that she had to do. Do you really think that just because I’m back, those memories are gone?” Shaking his head, Brad ran one of his hands through his hair as he waited for the handyman to respond.

“You could fix that,” Felix replied softly, his hands reaching up to pull off and play with his hat. “Neither of us can do anything about the cy-bugs in her mind, those are creatures too far ingrained into her coding to be evicted. But if you’re there, if you’re the one who she wakes up to in the morning, then maybe, just maybe, having to relive you dying won’t hurt as much, since you would be there to make everything better afterwards.”

“Do you really believe that, Fix-It,” Brad said sadly, “because I don’t. And even if that was true, Tamora chose you. And that’s something I can accept.”

“How d-“

Once again, whatever Felix had been about to say went unheard as they were finally interrupted by the scathing voice of the woman they both loved.

“Are you _men_ done with your conversation, or should I just stay inside for a couple more minutes like a ‘good little housewife,’” Calhoun called out to them from the open doorway, her hands on her hips as every muscle within her made it quite clear how she felt about being left out of a discussion that concerned her. Deciding that she was not going to wait to hear what their answer was after all, it was with a glare fierce enough to cause both men to cower before her that she joined them, creating a triangle as she strategically positioned herself to see both of them at once.

“You’ve chosen him, haven’t you,” Brad quickly cut in, stopping the words that had been on the tip Felix’s tongue before they could meet the air. “You’ve decided to stay with Fix-It, haven’t you?”

“Yes,” she replied with nod, her eyes flickering between the two men as she observed their reactions. “Yes, I have.”

“Why?” Although spoken as a question, it was clear from Brad’s voice that he already knew the answer, that he was only asking her to voice her reasons for the benefit of the handyman standing off to the side, his eyes wide as he watched their exchange.

“Because I love him,” Tamora replied, her gaze falling on Felix as she spoke, willing him to believe what she said. “I love him.”

“And,” Brad nudged softly, taking that last half-step that brought the two of them face to face. “Tell him the rest of the reason why you would never choose me.”

“Because I’m still waiting for you to die,” Tamora finally replied, her voice shaky as her trembling fingers wrapped themselves around the handle of her gun. “I’m still waiting for the moment that I have to shoot you, and every time I see you, I can’t help but remember that you’re dead because of me. I tried,” Tamora said with a hint of guilt as she once again glanced at Felix, regret that the thought had even crossed her mind clear within her voice, “I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about trying. But until I see you, you’re still dead.”

“But Fix-It is alive,” Brad said with a soft smile, his hand reaching up to brush a lock of hair from her face before placing a soft kiss on her forehead, “and I know that he’ll never choose to leave you like I did.” His hand falling to her shoulder, Brad took a step back and gently turned her towards her husband, the smile on his face growing when he saw the film of tears that had developed over the handyman’s eyes. Stepping back, his grin growing with each moment that the couple continued their silent conversation, it was with a nod that Brad turned, picked up the pack that he had left on the sidewalk, and began to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“Hero’s Duty doesn’t need me,” Brad said as he stopped, turning around to see that Felix had taken a step forward so that he was level with Tamora, the two of them looking after him with a twin pair of confused looks on their faces. “I’m just some extra code that doesn’t even get to fight. So, I’m leaving,” Shrugging his shoulders, all it took was a single look to stop the protests that had been about to fall from Tamora’s mouth, his voice firm as he continued to show just how set he was on seeing out this decision. “You know it’s true, Tammy. So, I’ve decided to go game jumping, travel around and see what’s out there. There are so many games here, it could take me years to go through all of them and discover their secrets. Don’t worry,” he said as the two shared a look, accurately picking up on the topic their eyes had just discussed, “Kohut filled me in on the local lore, and I won’t go Turbo. I’ll be putting my scientific training to use and observe, not participate.” Twisting so that he was only looking at them over his shoulder, Brad took a few more steps before once more coming to a stop, his gaze narrowing in on Felix himself as a mischievous twinkle entered his eyes.

“Hey, Fix-It. Payback for what you told me yesterday: Tammy’s always wanted kids. A _lot_ of them. Have fun with that.” Laughing at the flush that crossed Tamora’s and Felix’s faces, it was with his eyes firmly fixed on the tunnel that would take him away from the woman he was letting go and the man she loved so that neither of them could see the wetness on his face that Brad set off, hoisting his bag over his shoulder as he did so, ready to face whatever his future as a wanderer would bring.

————————————-

“Are you going to stay the night,” Felix asked quietly from her side as Brad’s form finally faded into the distance, the tunnel that led into Game Central Station hiding him from view as he set out on his newest adventure. Despite what he was hoping, he knew that it would be up to her, and that he would accept anything that she had to say.

“Yeah, I guess,” Tamora finally huffed out a moment later as she turned her glare to him, though it was a few shades less deadly then he had been expecting it to be, considering just how much they had been through for the past couple of weeks. “But you’re sleeping on the couch,” she added with a growl as she walked up the steps to their home, her frown deepening as she walked by him, “and in the morning we’re discussing those papers, this self-image issue you seem to be suffering from, and whatever it was that you told him. Got it, soldier?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Felix replied quickly, though by that point he would have agreed to anything if it meant keeping her for a few more hours. If he was to be honest, though he knew that the two of them would have a lot to work through, the events of just that day having created a rift between them, it was a division that he was sure they would be able to fix. It would take time, but as sure as his name was Fix-It, they would do just that. Shutting the door after himself, Felix set about preparing for what he was sure would be the worse night of his life, but so long as there actually was a promise of tomorrow, then he would be more than glad to bear it.


	4. Chapter 4

Hours later, the moment the slight sound of a quiet whimper awoke him in the middle of the night, Felix knew exactly what he had to do.

Stretching to his full height to work out the kinks that had appeared in his back while he slept, it was with soft but hurried movements that he slid off the couch, a repeat of the sound from before confirming that it had not been a product of his sleep-addled imagination. Scurrying across the room, careful to avoid the many unsuspecting traps that Tamora had insisted they add to their home in case of a break in, a feature she had gotten her way with despite his assurances that no one would ever even think of entering without their permission, it was only a few moments later that he was pushing open the door to their bedroom, his eyes finding his wife’s form even in the total darkness.

A wince crossed his face as she whimpered for the third time, her stillness telling him just how bad the dream actually was.

On a normal night, when her nightmares were from a more common stock, some form of movement was the standard, Tamora’s body tossing and her arms flailing as she fought against the cy-bugs in her mind. Although painful to watch (and to try to stop, for even in her sleep, Tamora had killer aim. Not that he would ever tell her, for why cause her to worry when a simple tap of his hammer could fix the unintentional bruise), those types of nightmares no longer even warranted a mention at breakfast, they had occurred so frequently.

This, however, was something different. Except for a small twitch of her hands as they tried to reach out for whatever it was that could save her in her dream, Tamora laid as if dead, her body utterly petrified by the horrors that had gotten finally gotten ahold of her. It was one of the worse of the worse, the type of nightmare that would leave her quiet and withdrawn for days to come, and at the moment he could not help but curse its timing.

Shaking his head as the horrible, almost begging sound clawed its way from her throat once again, Felix prepared himself for what he knew he had to do.

Climbing onto the bed, keeping one wary eye on her clenched fist in case he had to dodge a punch, Felix leaned in and gently placed a tender kiss onto the shell of her left ear, hoping that, once again, his unorthodox cure would work.

It did.

Almost immediately the tension that had tightened her muscles disappeared, allowing her to sink into the mattress as another whine turned into a sigh, her face relaxing into a peaceful mask as the terror fled. Her fingers uncurled, loosening the grip on the bed sheet that she had unconsciously developed in an attempt to keep herself grounded, as if the cloth was a weapon that could have helped her fight. Tugging at the fabric that had twisted around her legs, a testament to an earlier nightmare that he had slept through, Felix carefully rearranged the blanket so that it was covering her, tucking her in as if she were a child. Leaning down, it was with another soft sigh that he placed a kiss on her temple, his lips automatically finding the place where Brad had kissed her just a few hours before.

He might have been the second one to kiss her there, but Felix was sure that he would be the last.

“Love you, Tammy,” he whispered softly before pulling away, his fingers running their way through a lock of her hair to smooth out a tangle. His work for the night done, just glad that he could have been of help, Felix turned to head on back to his place on the couch.

His progress was stopped as two familiar arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him back onto the bed.

“Love you too, Felix,” Tamora muttered sleepily as she curled around Felix, effectively trapping him against her chest in a cage of limbs that he found he had no desire to escape from. “No matter what, love you.” Tucking his head underneath her chin, it was only moments later that she returned to the realm of slumber, though her grip, if anything, tightened even more to ensure that there was nowhere for him to go.

As if, after everything they had been through, he would ever try to leave her again.

Lying as he was in her arms, mere seconds before he was to fall asleep as well, it finally struck Felix that Tamora had, in fact, against all the odds, chosen him. She had decided to spend the rest of her life with him, despite the fact that she could have reclaimed the life she would have had with the man she had been programmed to love, and that was a decision he would spend the rest of his own making sure that she never regretted.


End file.
